Publications

Applied research behind LSC guidance.

Selected publications and reports organized by restoration and conservation focus, with DOI links where available.

Restoration papers

The genetic consequences of mixing seed collections and species-specific biology on the development of seed sources for land management Faske, Trevor; Lasche, Sophia; Wolf, Ashley; Faist, Akasha M; Fuentes-Soriano, Sara; Winkler, Daniel E; Massatti, Rob Ecological Applications, In Press

Agricultural seed production largely preserves wild phenotypes but reshapes trait variation in native restoration grasses of the southwestern USA Shriver, Laura C; Munson, Seth M; Lasché, Sophia; Wolf, Ashley; Faist, Akasha M; Fuentes-Soriano, Sara; Roybal, Carla M; Winkler, Daniel E; Massatti, Rob; Faske, Trevor M Restoration Ecology, In revision

Perennial grasses show flexible responses to shifts in precipitation seasonality in the American Southwest Knight, Anna; Finger-Higgens, Rebecca; Hoover, David; Pfennigwerth, Alix; Massatti, Rob; Severson, John; Duniway, Michael C In review

Integrating Science and Management to Improve Seed-Based Restoration Shriver, L C; Huxley, J D; Jordan, S E; Symstad, A J; DeFalco, L A; Bradford, J B; Esque, T C; Mengelt, C; Munson, S M; Barga, S C; Kilkenny, F F; Kindred, J; Kulpa, S M; Perkins, J L; Pilmanis, A M; Edwards, F S; Agneray, A C; Butterfield, B J; Faist, A M; Gaddis, M; Garbowski, M; Goebl, A M; Larson, J E; Benkendorf, R C; Shryock, D F; Slate, M L; Vandergast, A G; Woolridge, C B; Massatti, R Ecological Restoration, 2026 · pdf

Rethinking seed selection based on climate matching during restoration: geography, soils, and climate explain species-specific mortality Roybal, Carla; Samuel, Ella; Mitchell, Rachel; Winkler, Daniel; Massatti, Rob Drylands, 2026

Bridging theory and practice to inform seed selection for restoration Shriver, Laura C; Jordan, Samuel E; Massatti, Rob; Munson, Seth M Restoration Ecology, 33(8), e70174, 2025 · pdf

Intraspecific trait variability in wild plant populations predicts neither variability nor performance in a common garden Samuel, Ella M; Mitchell, Rachel M; Winkler, Daniel E; Davidson, Zoe M; Lencioni, Shannon; Massatti, Rob Restoration Ecology, 33(6), e14322, 2025

Suturing fragmented landscapes: Mosaic hybrid zones in plants may facilitate ecosystem resiliency Massatti, Rob; Faske, Trevor M; Barnes, Ivana M; Leger, Elizabeth A; Parchman, Thomas L; Richardson, Bryce A; Knowles, L Lacey Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122(31), e2410941122, 2025

Matching existing and future native plant materials to disturbance-driven restoration needs Winkler, Daniel E; Sterner, Sarah; Bradford, John B; Pilmanis, Adrienne M; Massatti, Rob Restoration Ecology, 32(4), e14088, 2024

Assessing population genomic structure and polyploidy: a crucial step for native plant restoration Richardson, Bryce A; Massatti, Rob; Islam-Faridi, Nurul; Johnson, Skylar; Kilkenny, Francis F Restoration Ecology, 31(3), e13740, 2023 · pdf

Genetically informed seed transfer zones for Astragalus lonchocarpus, Cleome serrulata, and Heliomeris multiflora across the Colorado Plateau and adjacent regions Massatti, Robert T US Geological Survey (USGS) Data Release, 1108, 2022

Spatially explicit management of genetic diversity using ancestry probability surfaces Massatti, Rob; Winkler, Daniel E Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 13(12), 2668-2681, 2022

Hybrid enrichment of adaptive variation revealed by genotype-environment associations in montane sedges Hodel, Richard GJ; Massatti, Rob; Knowles, L Lacey Molecular Ecology, 31(13), 3722-3737, 2022

How to increase the supply of native seed to improve restoration success: the US native seed development process McCormick, Molly L; Carr, Amanda N; Massatti, Rob; Winkler, Daniel E; De Angelis, Patricia; Olwell, Peggy Restoration Ecology, 29(8), e13499, 2021

Genetically-informed seed transfer zones for Cleome lutea and Machaeranthera canescens across the Colorado Plateau and adjacent regions Massatti, Robert USGS Report, 43, 2020

Unexpected hybridization reveals the utility of genetics in native plant restoration Winkler, DE; Massatti, R Restoration Ecology, 2020 · pdf

Assessment of population genetics and climatic variability can refine climate-informed seed transfer guidelines Massatti, Rob; Shriver, Robert K.; Winkler, Daniel E; Richardson, Bryce A; Bradford, John B Restoration Ecology, 2020

The historical context of contemporary climatic adaptation: a case study in the climatically dynamic and environmentally complex southwestern United States Massatti, Rob; Knowles, L Lacey Ecography, 43(5), 735-746, 2020

Genetically-informed seed transfer zones for Pleuraphis jamesii, Sphaeralcea parvifolia, and Sporobolus cryptandrus across the Colorado Plateau and adjacent regions Massatti, Rob Bureau of Land Management, 2019

Population history provides foundational knowledge for utilizing and developing native plant restoration materials Massatti, Rob; Prendeville, Holly R; Larson, Steve; Richardson, Bryce A; Waldron, Blair; Kilkenny, Francis F Evolutionary Applications, 11(10), 2025-2039, 2018

Beyond traditional ecological restoration on the Colorado Plateau Winkler, Daniel E; Backer, Dana M; Belnap, Jayne; Bradford, John B; Butterfield, Bradley J; Copeland, Stella M; Duniway, Michael C; Faist, Akasha M; Fick, Stephen E; Jensen, Scott L; Kramer, Andrea T; Mann, Rebecca; Massatti, Robert T; McCormick, Molly L; Munson, Seth M; Olwell, Peggy; Parr, Steve D; Pfennigwerth, Alix A; Pilmanis, Adrienne M; Richardson, Bryce A; Samuel, Ella; See, Kathy; Young, Kristina E; Reed, Sasha C Restoration Ecology, 26(6), 1055-1060, 2018

Resolving neutral and deterministic contributions to genomic structure in Syntrichia ruralis (Bryophyta, Pottiaceae) informs propagule sourcing for dryland restoration Massatti, Rob; Doherty, Kyle D; Wood, Troy E Conservation genetics, 19(1), 85-97, 2018 · pdf

Conservation papers

Genomic and Morphological Evidence Clarifies Species Boundaries in two Utah-endemic Astragalus species Brinkley, Ava M; Massatti, Rob; Hodel, Richie GJ American Journal of Botany, In Press

Vegetative propagation preserves genomic diversity and informs translocation strategies in a rare clonal plant Massatti, Rob; Bainbridge, Susan; Copeland, Stella M; Crouch, Carter; Faske, Trevor M; Hamerlynck, Erik; Palmer, Brandon; Roybal, Carla Evolutionary Applications, 19, e70299, 2026

Genetic structure of an expanding population of Humpback Chub in Grand Canyon Dzul, Maria C; Massatti, Robert; Yackulic, Charles B; Omana Smith, Emily; Young, Kirk North American Journal of Fisheries Management, 45(5), 929-940, 2025 · pdf

The Cost of Self-Defense: Browsing Effects in the Rare Plant Species Salix arizonica Lencioni, Shannon J; Massatti, Rob; Keefover-Ring, Ken; Holeski, Liza M Ecology and Evolution, 14(11), e70582, 2024

Evolutionary dynamics inform management interventions of a hanging garden obligate, Carex specuicola Chapin, Kenneth James; Jones, Matthew R; Winkler, Daniel E; Rink, Glenn; Massatti, Rob Frontiers in Conservation Science, 3, 941002, 2022

Demographic modeling informs functional connectivity and management interventions in Graham's beardtongue Jones, Matthew R; Winkler, Daniel E; Massatti, Rob Conservation Genetics, 22(6), 993-1003, 2021

The demographic and ecological factors shaping diversification among rare Astragalus species Jones, Matthew R; Winkler, Daniel E; Massatti, Rob Diversity and Distributions, 27(8), 1407-1421, 2021

Genetic analyses of Astragalus sect. Humillimi (Fabaceae) resolve taxonomy and enable effective conservation Massatti, Rob; Belus, Matthew T; Dowlatshahi, Shahed; Allan, Gerard J American journal of botany, 105(10), 1703-1711, 2018